Wednesday, 1/22 - Roughin' It!

• P&P

• I'd like for you to have a rough draft finished by the beginning of block day.
• Underline thesis statement
• Underline topic sentences (TS)
• At least two quotes for the first body paragraph (8-12 sentences)
• At least two quotes for the second body paragraph (8-12 sentences)

HW: (due Block) See above requirements

Tuesday, 1/21 - Keep Goin'!

• P&P

• Today I want you to continue working on your Google Drive doc. (5th period, please follow the instructions regarding this in the post below.)

• Full rough draft is due by the end of the period on Wednesday.
• Underline your thesis statement (the last sentence of your intro paragraph)
• Also, please underline your topic sentences (the first or second sentence of each body paragraph)

• Plan on finishing your essay by the end of block day of this week.

HW:

1. (Wed) Full Rough Draft by the end of the period
2. (Block) Final Draft by the end of the period 

Block, 1/16 - Pluggin' away at the Essay

• P&P

• Continue working on your essay; here are the expected due dates:
• a provisional outline by the end of the day. 
• A working thesis statement
• Three topic sentences
• At least three quotes per body paragraph

• Next Wednesday, bring a rough draft
• Next block day, Final draft is due at the end of the period

I would like you and your "pardner" to begin working through Google Drive so I can monitor your progress and provide insights to help you develop your essay. Here are the instructions:

1. Get the Google Drive app (it's free)
2. You must use a Gmail address (make one if your student account doesn't work)
3. One person in the group must invite the other to the document you've created, which you will entitle "Satan and Don John: (and include your names)"
4. Invite Mr. Reno by typing in chrisjreno@gmail.com
5. Now we can all work on your essay together ; )

What should I include in my intro paragraph?

• Hook! Write something interesting about evil, suffering, or dark, lurking characters. 
• Both authors and their works: William Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado about Nothing and John Milton's epic Paradise Lost
• Thesis statement 

How can we structure a thesis statement for this compare-contrast essay?

Here are some templates for your thesis statement that you can fill in/tweak with:

While Don John and Satan both ____________________________, they subtly differ: Don John ________________, while Satan _____________________________; this distinction shows _______ to be more profound depiction of evil than ________.


Although both villains ____________________________, Don John __________________________, whereas Satan ______________, thus revealing ____________ as the more profound depiction of evil. 

 
How should we structure our body paragraphs?

Here is a chunk that I've taken from your Bedford books to help you structure your body paragraphs (The examples are a bit short for your assignment, but use them as you consider which pattern you think would best serve your purposes):

Comparison and contrast

To compare two subjects is to draw attention to their similarities, although the word compare also has a broader meaning that includes a consideration of differences. To contrast is to focus only on differences.

Whether a comparison-and-contrast paragraph stresses similarities or differences, it may be patterned in one of two ways. The two subjects may be presented one at a time, block style, as in the following paragraph of contrast.

(TS) So Grant and Lee were in complete contrast, representing two diametrically opposed elements in American life. Grant was the modern man emerging; beyond him, ready to come on the stage, was the great age of steel and machinery, of crowded cities and a restless burgeoning vitality. Lee might have ridden down from the old age of chivalry, lance in hand, silken banner fluttering over his head. Each man was the perfect champion of his cause, drawing both his strengths and weaknesses from the people he led. —Bruce Catton, “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts”

Or a paragraph may proceed point by point, treating the two subjects together, one aspect at a time. The following paragraph uses the point-by-point method to contrast the writer’s academic experiences in an American high school with those in an Irish convent.

(TS) Strangely enough, instead of being academically inferior to my American high school, the Irish convent was superior. In my class at home, Love Story was considered pretty heavy reading, so imagine my surprise at finding Irish students who could recite passages from War and Peace. In high school we complained about having to study Romeo and Juliet in one semester, whereas in Ireland we simultaneously studied Macbeth and Dickens’s Hard Times, in addition to writing a composition a day in English class. In high school, I didn’t even begin algebra until the ninth grade, while at the convent seventh graders (or their Irish equivalent) were doing calculus and trigonometry. —Margaret Stack, student

Tuesday, 10/1 - Don Your War Gear

• P&P 

• Extended Chapel Schedule

• Try to make some serious headway today, for block day will be the day of reckoning, the day to stand firm, the day you face the ICE dragon. You should have all your materials ready by the end of class today, which I will collect. The ones that I have are the ones you will get to use, no others.  

• The THESIS - Remember that your thesis should answer at least the first two of the following questions; for a rollicking good time and grade, however, take a stab at the why? question, too:

1. What? (THEME) - What is the author saying about some aspect of life? 
1. What is he saying about the nature of worldly wealth? Any of the following might be themes in Beowulf:
1. Worldly wealth doesn't ultimately satisfy
2. Worldly wealth is transitory
3. Worldly wealth produces unnecessary conflict and violence 
2. How? (LIT ELEMENTS) - How is the author saying it? What literary elements does he use to show the theme you've identified? (e.g. kennings, biblical allusions, typologies, character, imagery, contrasts, setting, motif, etc.)
1.  How does the Beowulf author address the nature of worldly wealth?
1. He uses different imagery (burial, decay, violence)
2. He uses biblical allusions (choose the better part, proverbs of Solomon to son)
3. He uses different characters (Hrothgar, last of a high-born race, King Heremod, dragon)
4. He uses the ubi sunt motif in several key places
3. Why? - This is perhaps the most difficult of all because you are trying to consider broader cultural, theological, philosophical considerations the author is addressing. 
1. Why does the Beowulf author use burial imagery to show the transitory nature of worldly wealth?
1. To warn future Anglo-Saxon kings not to build their kingdoms on false foundations . . .
2. To quell the ubiquitous violence so prevalent in his culture . . . 
3. To point his readers to eternal life and real wealth . . .

Based upon the considerations above, here follow some sample thesis statements (with the why, how, and what in parentheses):

1. (Why?) To warn future Anglo-Saxon kings not to build their kingdoms on false foundations, the Beowulf author (How?) uses images of violence, burial, and decay to show (What?) that worldly wealth is transitory.
2. (How?) Using several biblical allusions and types, the Beowulf author maintains (What?) that worldly wealth is both unsatisfying and transitory; this he does (Why?) to point his readers to the satisfying wealth of eternal life.
3. (Why?) To quell the ubiquitous violence so prevalent in the viking culture of his predecessors, the Beowulf poet (How?) uses unwise kings, a dragon, and the imagery of violence and burial to (What?) show how worldly wealth foolishly gained and hoarded produces unnecessary conflict, violence and, ultimately, death.

HW: 

1. Continue to browse Beowulf and mentally prepare for your ICE. You will have all class period tomorrow to prepare.
2. Reno's classes will begin reciting "Caedmon's Hymn" on Wednesday (tomorrow). It's do or die time, baby. Those who wish to recite need but ask, and their wish shall be granted. Those who shrink back will most likely be called to the heat of battle. Work out your Anglo-Saxon lungs and perform like a scop.
3. We will be having a test over the Anglo-Saxon period mid-week next week. I will post a study guide. 

Tuesday, 9/17 - Peer editing . . . Note how Beowulf peer-edits Unferth's essay

• P&P

• Peer edit four to five other student's intro paragraphs (20-25 min).
• Tell your colleague which intro is better and why, keeping in mind the points below.

• Aspects to consider: 
• Is there a narrative arc? Or for those writing descriptive essays, is there a link between the place described and its effect upon the author? Does the description "show" or give the reader a "taste" of the place's qualities that have deeply affected the author?
• Has there been a change; is there a difference (of kind or degree) in character, vision?
  
• Is there reflection on the author's character development?
• Does the narrative answer the prompt?
  
• Are there any ROs (Run-Ons), CSs (Comma Splices), or Fs (Fragments)?
• Note any effective, vivid language
  

• Beowulf - power on through as much as we can, taking notes on the qualities of "the goodly king."

HW: keep working on CWP college prompts

Monday, 9/17 - Homecoming Week (Day 1)

• P&P

• Welcome to Homecoming Weak (I know it's "week," but the festivities make for some not-as-strong-as-usual class time). Two things:
1. I forgot to post J3 on Focus, so I cannot grade it as homework today. Consider it due tomorrow. 
2. We will be in Beowulf today, since I neglected my homework posting duty.    

Here are some helpful definitions from Purdue OWL, an online writing resource, that should aid you as you consider how to best answer particular prompts:

1. Narrative - "think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing the student to express herself in a creative and, quite often, moving way." This genre comes in handy to answer prompts asking you to describe a moving experience or where you've come from: your country, your town, your family, your work, your hobbies. It also works well when asked to describe a person who has greatly influenced you.

2. Descriptive - "asks the student to describe an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc." This genre also comes in handy to answer prompts like those mentioned above.

3. Expository - "requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner." This genre works well when asked to comment on a piece of music, a historical figure, or a book that has deeply influenced you.

4. Argument - "requires the student to investigate a topic, collect, generate, and evaluate evidence, and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner." This genre will be used least, unless asked to take a stand on a particular issue. 

It is important to realize that you may draw upon elements of several of these essay genres as you respond to particular prompts. You will note that genres 1 and 2 tend to be more immediately creative, yet creative prompts (University of Chicago, anyone?) can ask you to engage in genres 3 or 4, asking you to creatively defend a silly thesis. A talented student will blend genres, sometimes beginning with a 1 or 2, only to strengthen it with the argumentative edge of a 3 or 4. For what it's worth . . .  

• Now . . . back to Beowulf

Block, 9/12-13 - Personal Narratives, Then Beowulf's

• P&P 

• While I check J2, please read several of the sample essays posted below (the first three) to garner ideas for your own. 
• Educational Experience
• Mother Watsonville
• Prunedale Promise
• The Bully (We will read this one together)

• Anglo-Saxon Par-tay! And while we feast, Beowulf continues to beat his chest . . . and others.

HW: Over the weekend, I would like for you to type out a first paragraph for each of your two selected college prompts, for a total of two paragraphs. Please include the prompt in italics above each paragraph. You must MLA format your paper. 

College Essay: Hugh Gallagher, the Legendary Liar (a.k.a. Beowulf)

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

Monday, 9/10 - Beowulf steps into the telephone booth

• P&P 

• CWP 

• Narrative Essay - overview
• Descriptive Essay - overview

1. Be sure to include the prompt when turning in any college essay writing piece.

2. Use MLA in your heading for work turned in.

3. Consider opening in medias res (in the middle of things), like Homer (though an epic may not follow).

4. Keep the active tense. Vary your sentences (do five sentences open with "I" or "My"? Change it). Be specific, avoid general statements about yourself and others.

5. Look for the arc of negative to positive or positive to negative to positive.

6. Colleges are more interested in you than people you'd rather talk about. 

• Beowulf

HW:  work on narrative essay

Block, 3/21-22 - P&P ICE

• P&P 

• If you have not yet taken the P&P exam, you must see me asap.

• ICE requirements - your five paragraph ICE must consist of the following:
• introduction
• a hook of some sort
• underlined title of Austen's novel
• underlined thesis
• underlined preview of your main points
• Three body paragraphs - for each paragraph you must have . . .
• an underlined topic sentence
• three supporting details from the text
• with one of those supporting details being a properly integrated quote with correct MLA formatting
• commentary on the supporting details
• concluding sentence that ties the back into the TS (topic sentence)
• Conclusion 
• restatement of the thesis
• tell us what's so important about your thesis 

HW: take a break

Tuesday, 10/2 - Trouncing the tarn-hag

*P&P

*Reno's classes need to check the new and improved expectations that he posted yesterday.
 
*Now . . . beat down that monstrous tarn-hag of an essay that has you pinned on your back. Hope you wore your mithril today; her knife is sharp.

HW: prepare for THICE to be written on block day. 

Monday, 10/1 - Grappling with Grendel

*P&P

*Battle the monster, er, I mean, work on your THICE (Take Home In Class Essay). The final draft we will write in class on block day. Since you are not being timed on this one, you should be shooting for at least eight to ten sentences per body paragraph for a five paragraph essay and twelve to fifteen for a four paragraph essay. We'll be looking for some nice development, exceptional support, and impeccable structure and style.

*Please use your time well this week. You will have the full class period each day. If you don't use your time well, you will write an ICE during advisory . . . using a prompt of my choosing. So work wisely.

Cheers!

HW: THICE to be hand-written in class on block day.

Block, 9/25-26 - Nice ICE

*P&P

*Bedford 19 (Fragments) and 20 (Run-ons). Review rules and then do Ex 19-1 (a-e) and 20-1 (a-e). While you do this work, please have your J3 out. Reno's Wiglafs will show their mettle by displaying their tricked-out battle tackle (J3 quotes). The tail-turner's (those who failed to do J3) will hide in the trees, feigning courage . . . and quotes. Those battle-dodgers without a stockpile of quotes will spend time gathering gold from Beowulf-barrow. Get into the text when I give you writing time today.

*Schwager's thanes finish Beowulf. Fight the good fight. Stab the dragon. (P. S. Go for the flank . . . steak.)

Please read the ICE (the expository essay) below and answer the questions that follow. I then want to hear your thoughts. Here is an example of a nice ICE from your colleagues in English 400 this year. There were a number of others, but this student was absent on the day of ICE return, so I still had it on hand, and I forgot to ask for some of the really good ones back. Dig.

College Essays: In Medias Res and Mother Watsonville (Ms. Silva)

Tell us about the neighborhood that you grew up in and how it helped shape you into the kind of person you are today.